SC trooper making traffic stop hit by a driver arrested for DUI, sheriff says
A South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper was injured Sunday in the line of duty when he was hit by a vehicle while conducting a traffic stop, officials said.
Senior Trooper Mitchell Williams Jr. was hit after another vehicle had been pulled over on Interstate 77 at about midnight, Highway Patrol officials said.
Williams was assisting another trooper with a traffic stop near the 9 mile marker on I-77 when a truck, hauling an enclosed trailer, ran off the side of the highway into the median and hit Williams with the driver’s side mirror, according to the Highway Patrol. That’s near the junction with U.S. 76 and U.S. 378 in Columbia.
Williams was taken to Prisma Health Richland where he was treated and has been released, Highway Patrol officials said.
No other injuries were reported.
Williams is assigned to Troop 1, Post D in Richland County.
The driver
The truck was stopped and its driver, 35-year-old Alex Bookert, showed signs of impairment, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Bookert was charged with DUI and endangering emergency services personnel, the sheriff’s department said.
Bookert was taken to Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, according to the sheriff’s department. The Columbia resident posted $2,054.50 bond on the combined charges, Richland County court records show. He’s not listed on the jail’s inmate roster.
Bookert is scheduled to return to court Nov. 12, according to judicial records.
In the past 4 years, Bookert has been arrested on traffic charges that include driving vehicle at greater speed than is reasonable under conditions (in 2021) and another speeding count (in 2024), court records show.
Trooper death
Sunday’s crash comes a month after another Highway Patrol trooper was killed in the line of duty after he was hit by a vehicle while he was making a traffic stop.
In August, Trooper First Class Dennis D. Ricks died days after he was struck by a passing box truck while conducting a traffic stop in Orangeburg County, The State previously reported.
On Aug. 10, the trooper had pulled over a vehicle at about 2 a.m. on the eastbound side of Interstate 26 near mile marker 165 in Orangeburg County, according to the Highway Patrol. That’s when the collision occurred.
Ricks was critically injured and had to be airlifted to a hospital where he died on Aug. 13, the Highway Patrol said.
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This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 7:53 AM.
